Buying Suggestion on buying Used MacBook or Mac Mini?

[riguy99]

Hello,

I am looking into buying a used MacBook or Mac mini, but I am not sure which year i should be looking into. All I was planning on using it for was some light use like: word processing, internet, watching videos, and maybe a light game or two. I would not prefer to go over $600, and I would feel better if it was at a lower price. What would you recommend in this situation?

Also how would the 2009 or 2010 macbook preform if I were to upgrade the RAM and maybe the HDD to SSD?

Thanks,
Riguy99

 

[Calvin Laudrensio]

If u want price lower than $600 for a Mac, you might could get 2006-2010 Macbook/Mac Mini, but there are some serious disadvantages. First, those macs are pretty much outdated, and will not perform well with recent softwares, even with word processing. Second, those Macs have been used for a long time, meaning the parts inside won't last for a long time. HDD, Screen, and some other parts of computer will eventually wears out over time, which will cost you some extra money if you need to replace it. For gaming, I could say a big NO. You'll going to have a hard time playing Minecraft, or any other games with Macs. I have a late 2011 Macbook Pro, it boots for 3 minutes, run games at not satisfying performance, and problems and problems and problems....

You better buy a Custom PC or other laptop beside Mac for $600. I would reccomend DELL, ASUS, HP or Lenovo for laptop, or build your own custom PC for less than $600 that could run GTA 5 at 30-60fps. I recommend you to watch some tutorials and guides to buy the right laptop and build your own PC on youtube, such as Austin Evans's and Linus Tech Tips's channel.

Upgrading the RAM or HDD to SSD on 2009 or 2010 Macbook will result faster booting, better performance on gaming/running heavy tasks, and increasing speed in opening certain files, and those are also depends on the CPU and GPU performance. I believe 2009 or 2010 Macbooks aren't worth upgrading. You better buy a new laptop/PC.

Hope this helps!

 

[Alex R]

If u want price lower than $600 for a Mac, you might could get 2006-2010 Macbook/Mac Mini, but there are some serious disadvantages. First, those macs are pretty much outdated, and will not perform well with recent softwares, even with word processing. Second, those Macs have been used for a long time, meaning the parts inside won't last for a long time. HDD, Screen, and some other parts of computer will eventually wears out over time, which will cost you some extra money if you need to replace it. For gaming, I could say a big NO. You'll going to have a hard time playing Minecraft, or any other games with Macs. I have a late 2011 Macbook Pro, it boots for 3 minutes, run games at not satisfying performance, and problems and problems and problems....

You better buy a Custom PC or other laptop beside Mac for $600. I would reccomend DELL, ASUS, HP or Lenovo for laptop, or build your own custom PC for less than $600 that could run GTA 5 at 30-60fps. I recommend you to watch some tutorials and guides to buy the right laptop and build your own PC on youtube, such as Austin Evans's and Linus Tech Tips's channel.

Upgrading the RAM or HDD to SSD on 2009 or 2010 Macbook will result faster booting, better performance on gaming/running heavy tasks, and increasing speed in opening certain files, and those are also depends on the CPU and GPU performance. I believe 2009 or 2010 Macbooks aren't worth upgrading. You better buy a new laptop/PC.

Hope this helps!

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro completely stock (4gb ram and 250gb HDD) and basically everything you said is wrong lol.
The only part that *might* wear out after 5-6 years is the battery, maybe the HDD but mine is perfectly fine.
I have no lag at all running the newest OS X, and I can even play games pretty well. Minecraft, CS:GO, LoL, Dota 2, and older COD games all run well with lower settings. My macbook boots in 30-40ish seconds, and that's with the stock HDD.
However, with $600 you can buy a 2012 Macbook Pro or a 2012 Macbook Air. Those will run perfectly fine for what you do. I bought a 2013 Macbook Air 13" for $630 which ran great, but my local best buy had a deal for the 2015 model for $750 so I bought that. Also really don't go for anything older than 2010. My 2009 white macbook was quite a bit slower than my 2010 pro, and gaming was completely off limits for the 2009 Macbook.